Policing Minister explains how and when police will enforce new face masks rules

A Minister has explained that there is ‘no intention for police to be standing outside every branch of Asda or Greggs’.

Kit Malthouse, Policing Minster, said shops should encourage people to where face masks when they become compulsory from July 24th, when asked about how police will enforce the rules.

Wearing a face mask within shops will become compulsory from Friday in England.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Malthouse said: “There’s no intention for the police to be standing outside every branch of Asda or Greggs and making sure that people are wearing face masks.

“What we’re doing is adopting the same posture that we did throughout the lockdown which is encourage people to comply.

“We know from the previous experience that the vast majority of people will, and that, you know, shops and others should encourage people to wear face masks if at all possible, and they obviously are – it’s going to be compulsory.

“But if people resist or won’t leave the premises or there’s any kind of altercation, then obviously the police will be called and they should attend if it’s a public order issue, as they would in any other retail circumstance – if there was a scuffle or a conflict that arose.”

Some areas have explained that they will not get involved with disputes over face masks in shops. For instance, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall has said that officers will not be responding to calls concerning people not wearing face masks, according to reports.

Alison Hernandez said: “It will be just as we do now with Covid, the police work on the four Es so they engage people, they encourage people, they educate people and they enforce – that may not be the right order – but they will still be doing that.

“But as has happened already probably in the last month is we are now back to normal policing, so they are rising back to the levels that they were before and we are moving back into ordinary policing. But the expectation is that they will only come if there is disorder or violence or something associated with it, they are not going to come to every phone call that someone is not wearing a mask.”

Greater Manchester Police has yet to pass comment on wearing a face mask in shops, however they’ve provided a lot of support for face masks on transport including putting officers ‘out and about’ to remind the public of the ‘importance of wearing a face-covering when travelling on public transport’.